Entrepreneurial universities and transformational entrepreneurship: the case of the Zayed University- Minerva Project partnership

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Cases on Transformational Entrepreneurship

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Abstract

This chapter presents a case study of an innovative entrepreneurial university in the UAE: Zayed University’s College of Interdisciplinary Studies, established in 2021 in partnership with the US-based Minerva Project. The novel interdisciplinary curriculum aims to equip students - who are predominantly female - with the skills underpinning transformational entrepreneurship through several channels. First, there are no lectures, and active learning classes taught on Minerva’s online proprietary platform, Forum, require students to come prepared to class and participate fully. Classes include a variety of in-class exercises (such as polls) and peer breakout groups where students work collaboratively to understand the material. Second, a highly interdisciplinary curriculum trains students in coding, statistics, critical thinking, writing and communication, and the psychology of personal growth as early as their first year. First-year students also take a required course in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In their second year, students specialize in four interdisciplinary majors: Computational Sciences, Social Innovation, Business Transformation, and Sustainability. Third, as part of the curriculum, all students undertake a Partner Challenge project, where they work in teams and in consultation with a company mentor to analyze and propose a solution to a company or societal problem. Fourth, students in their third and fourth years undertake a capstone project where they apply their skills to a project of global or national importance. We conclude by analyzing the implications of this new model of an entrepreneurial university for socio-economic change through transformational entrepreneurship in the UAE and beyond.

ISBN

[9781035310395, 9781035310388]

Publisher

Edward Elgar Publishing

First Page

10

Last Page

25

Disciplines

Business

Keywords

Entrepreneurial university, Transformational entrepreneurship, Interdisciplinary curriculum, Critical thinking, Sustainability

Scopus ID

85204581373

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

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